


The Wonders and the Was

by voleuse



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s09e06 Beachhead, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 02:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/pseuds/voleuse
Summary: I'll soon grow hungry for a fight and I will not let you win.Daniel reminded himself, over and over, that their time was always running out.
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Vala Mal Doran
Kudos: 7





	The Wonders and the Was

**Author's Note:**

> Set prior to and through 9.06, "Beachhead."

The briefing room, the one overlooking the gate room, was designated for official use only. It was not a break room, or an informal study, or a place to just chat. Under General Landry's oversight, however, there was a single but constant exception: If ESPN had a Bruins game on. 

Unless there was some ongoing emergency, on those evenings you could find General Landry kicking back in the conference room wearing his UCLA sweatshirt, a platter of potato skins on offer to anybody who knew to root for the right team. 

Vala didn't know much about Earth sporting events, but anything on base that was less than regulation-perfect drew her in like a magnet. And the closer the Bruins got to the playoffs, the less healthy the banquet became. 

As things seemed to be going well for the team at the moment, Rush (clearly in off-duty mode), tried to explain some of the rules to Vala. It was the second...part...of the game when someone blew a whistle and at least four people in the room groaned.

"What happened?" Vala asked. "I didn't see any foul. Did I miss one?" She took the bag of cheese puffs from Rush and grabbed a handful for herself.

"No," Rush said. "He was in the key too long--rookie mistake. Now there's a turnover."

Vala frowned. "Wait, what's the key?" Rush started sketching out a basketball court on a Cheeto-dusted paper towel. Vala followed along for a couple of seconds. "Is it really this complicated?"

"Nah." Rush looked up from his drawing, which was now half-populated with stick figures. "I mean, technically, yes, but if you're not a pro--"

"I can show you," Daniel said from a few feet behind them. 

Vala startled, turned. "When did you get here?"

He shrugged. 

"Sure," Vala said. She tried to interpret whatever was going on with Daniel, but he remained a mystery. "Thank you," she added.

Beside her, Rush had started to add more stick figures around the outskirts of his drawing. Some of them had hats.

***

Slowly, Daniel came to realize how integrated Vala had become. She hadn't slipped into the rhythms of the base, she'd changed them.

He wandered into the mess hall for coffee, mid-afternoon, and found what looked like the entire infirmary night shift playing poker. Right in the center was Vala keeping, it turned out, extremely careful track of the pile of candy they were using for stakes. (When she saw him, she tossed a mini-Snickers his way, no question, no comment.) 

Even though Vala had been around long enough that a security detail was rarely needed, he still saw her former guards stopping by her quarters once in a while. Rush and Bradley with three different kinds of Doritos. Baker with a bag full of doughnut holes. Finney with a carton of orange juice and a bottle of vodka. 

Daniel ventured into the library and found Vala and, of all people, Carolyn Lam breaking down the various branches of the United States military.

After spending most of a day in the archives, he walked into the gym for a pick-up game with Mitchell. When Vala came in, something brightened in Daniel, and that's when he realized he hadn't felt their bond, that invisible tether, until that moment.

***

It was one of those days where Vala seemed to have decided to shadow Daniel _sans_ torment. He was comparing an Asgard text with an Ancient one, and Vala seemed content to annotate some files from SG-7's last mission. (Not every team had a linguist; having Vala translate a few Goa'uld artifacts sped up things considerably.)

A metallic scrape broke Daniel's concentration. When he looked up ready to complain, however, he saw Vala reaching for something on a top shelf, standing on that wobbly chair he kept meaning to get replaced.

He was across the room before he realized it, right before the chair tipped as Vala turned to step down. Daniel caught her by the elbows as she lost her balance. She braced her hands on his shoulders, pressed her forehead against his chest as she reoriented herself. The text she'd retrieved thumped onto the floor.

"Thanks," she said. "I shouldn't have--" She broke off as she looked up at him. 

Daniel absently let his hands drift to her waist. He should have been letting her go, but he realized he didn't want to. One of Vala's arms looped around his neck as he bent his head, heard her catch her breath--

The phone rang and Daniel jerked back. Vala made a sound that drew him back to her, but the phone kept ringing.

Daniel reached out blindly, fumbling as he picked up the phone. "What?" he snapped out.

"Daniel? You okay?"

"Sam," he realized. He nudged Vala away as he took a step away. "Yeah, I was just, no, I'm fine."

"I can call you back if you're busy," Sam responded.

"No, I'm not doing anything," Daniel said, smiling as he imagined Sam with that sheepish look on her face. "I can talk." He turned to say _something_ to Vala, though he wasn't quite sure what.

She was already walking out the door.

***

"Doctor Jackson." Landry looked up from the files on his desk.

Daniel stepped into his office. "Walter said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Landry said. He shuffled the documents around until he found a personnel file. "I wanted to talk to you about Vala."

Daniel frowned. "What did she--"

"No." Landry held up his hand. "Not that kind of talk." He paused. "This time."

"Okay," Daniel responded. "So, then?"

"What do you think we should do about her?"

Daniel blinked. "What do you mean?"

"This bond of yours," Landry said, "is keeping her around for a while."

"Yes," Daniel said, "though I think the effects are starting to fade."

"Good," Landry said, "but since we don't know how long it's going to take, I need to know if she's going to keep going out on missions. If she's going to stick around--"

"She isn't," Daniel replied. "I mean, her entire life has been disrupted, and we've been keeping her here. I can't imagine she would completely change her ways if given the opportunity to do otherwise."

"She's been helpful, once in a while." Landry drummed his fingers against the desk. "Colonel Mitchell said that she's eager to contribute."

"She's," Daniel shrugged, "she's just bored. She doesn't want to stay."

"Doctor Jackson," Landry replied, "do _you_ want her to stay?"

"Do I?" Daniel searched for the right words. "I doubt she would be a good fit, given her predilections and, you know, there's the whole treasure thing, so."

"That didn't actually answer my question," Landry pointed out.

"Sir," Daniel said. "She's going to leave."

Landry stared at Daniel for a few seconds, then waved a dismissal. "Thank you, Doctor Jackson. This has been...illuminating." He turned his attention back to his files.

Confused, Daniel nodded. He left.

***

Daniel had made a habit of reviewing the mission reports whenever any team encountered a Prior. The message was consistent, but he wondered if the variations in delivery could be significant.

The third time he noticed a Prior had talked about "the smallest pebble," he grabbed the file and the _Book of Origin_ SG-17 had obtained for him and went in search of Vala.

She wasn't in any of her usual spots, but as he went to check her quarters, he heard a familiar _basso profundo_ in the opposite direction. The door to Teal'c's room was open and there they all were. And Teal'c was telling a joke?

"--eyes glow. The Horus guard's beak glistens. The Setesh guard's nose drips." 

There's a beat of silence then, to Daniel's surprise, both Teal'c and Vala started laughing. 

Mitchell looked back and forth between the two, clearly not getting the joke but smiling anyway.

Teal'c kept laughing, but Vala mimed a Jaffa helmet for Mitchell. "Because, you know, they don't have the," she looked over at Teal'c. He used his hands to signal, possibly, fangs and Vala pointed, giggling. "You see?"

"No," Mitchell admitted. "So you used the helmet to sneak into that other Goa'uld's--"

"Nut," Vala supplied.

"Into Nut's storeroom," Mitchell finished. "And then what?"

"Well," Vala said, but then she caught sight of Daniel, lurking in the hallway. "Daniel!"

Daniel waved, book in hand. "Hey."

"You should join us, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. 

Daniel stepped in the door but shook his head. "I'd like to but, you know. Work."

Mitchell stood. "What's going on?"

"Actually," Daniel said, "I, uh. I need Vala."

Vala bounced up and patted Mitchell on the shoulder. "Try not to dwell on your increasing irrelevance."

Mitchell rolled his eyes, then sat back down. 

Vala peered at the book as she came up even with Daniel. "Origin?" They started walking back to his office. "Is it about Ver Eger?"

"No," Daniel said. "I noticed a pattern in some of the files and I wanted to get your opinion."

"Really?" She took his arm, as if he was escorting her. "Honestly, Daniel, who did you talk to before I came along?"

Someone called Vala's name--it was one of Lee's assistants, Daniel thought--so she didn't notice that Daniel didn't have an answer.

***

The next time Daniel wanted to run something by Vala, he didn't. Not the next time, or the next.

 _She's going to leave_ , he told himself. 

He passed her in the hallway with a nod and nothing else. She showed up at his office and he was just on his way out.

She brought coffee to his quarters and he tried not to notice her reaction when he took the mug and shut the door in her face.

When she showed up at the gym with Teal'c and challenged "you wretched representatives of the Tau'ri's honor," well. It turned out it was difficult to be aloof _and_ talk trash at the same time.

***

Vala had stolen an entire bunch of grapes as they left the VIP room. Back in the briefing room, she curled into one of the chairs and maintained a look of superiority until the rest of them were seated.

Teal'c leaned forward, elbows on the table. "It did not seem that Nerus recognized you."

"He wouldn't have," Vala replied. She offered some grapes to Daniel; he shook his head. "But he knew Qetesh."

"Wait." Mitchell reached across the table and grabbed a couple of grapes for himself. "Didn't one of you say he worked for Ba'al?"

"And Qetesh knew Ba'al," Vala replied. 

"Really?" Mitchell asked.

"Well--"

"Homeworld Command has given us the go-ahead," Landry said as he walked in. 

"That's a mistake," Vala opined.

Landry scowled. "Despite your personal objections," and he held up a hand as Vala started to speak, "and Teal'c's concern, the General thinks it's at least worth investigating the threat. And, if the intel is good, terminating it."

Daniel frowned. "Terminate?"

"I've asked for Colonel Carter's assistance on this one," Landry said. He very carefully didn't look at Mitchell as he made the announcement. (Mitchell had gone wide-eyed but apparently speechless.)

"Waste of time," Vala crooned.

"Vala," Daniel snapped, "stop."

For a moment, he thought she looked hurt, but when she lifted her chin and sighed dramatically, he decided he'd imagined it.

***

The _Prometheus_ was still en route when they arrived at the rendezvous planet. Vala was still in a huff, not that Daniel decided to care. He checked his weapons again, only looking up when Sam sidled beside him.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Sam said. 

"Oh, intention usually doesn't matter with Vala," Daniel replied. 

"Okay," Sam said. "Based on what you've told me about her, though, her objections do make a lot of sense."

"Only in that it's disrupting the mission." He looked over at Sam. 

"You know, you'd usually be the one warning us not to trust the Goa'uld." Sam frowned. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," he responded. "I'm just getting tired--"

" _Prometheus_ just arrived," Mitchell announced. "Get ready to beam up!"

Daniel shrugged at Sam's inquiring look, happened to glance in Vala's direction. It turned out she was standing much closer than he had thought.

She folded her arms. He avoided eye contact.

Then they were on the ship.

***

They'd be in hyperspace for about an hour more. Vala had hung back while they were going over the mission plans again. She wasn't in the mood to get shot down another time.

To her surprise, after the briefing finished, Colonel Carter came over to her. "I wanted to apologize about what I said before," she told Vala.

"Oh," Vala replied. "That's unexpected."

"It's strange," Carter said, "to go back somewhere you used to live or work, and see everything's different."

"I suppose so," Vala said. She tried a smile. "And thank you." She looked across the room. Daniel had his back to her, which aggravated her more than usual.

"So," Carter said, pulling Vala back to their conversation. "You're the one who stole the _Prometheus_."

Vala sighed. "Yes, that was me."

"Tell me," Carter stepped a bit closer, "how did you manage to reconfigure the communications array? The mission reports were--"

"Pretty vague," Vala said. "So I've heard."

***

Daniel steered her off the bridge, hands firm against her shoulders. Normally, Vala would protest, but when they had gained enough distance, she broke his grip and whirled to face him. "Daniel," she said. "did I do something wrong?" She tried to will away the quaver in her voice. "Why are you--"

He sighed. "No, I'm just...aren't you tired of all this?" He made a vague gesture around them. "If we get a chance to be done, shouldn't we take it?"

"All this?" Vala pulled back. "What--"

"This mission is important," he interrupted. "We can't afford to be distracted."

"I, out of everyone on this ship, know how dangerous the Ori are," Vala said. The echo of searing fire skittered across her skin. "Quite vividly."

"Right," Daniel replied, "so you understand why it's vital to let the experts focus on taking care of this."

"The experts?" Vala crossed her arms. "Haven't I-- Daniel, I haven't been going on these missions solely because of our bond."

"I know," he said, "I know. Just...Vala, please." He set a hand on her shoulder. "Have some faith, okay?" He turned and walked back towards the bridge.

Vala watched him go and muttered, "You first."

***

The cargo ship was being pulled apart, the inertial dampeners failing as she tried to get to the rings. Vala punched in the control commands and hoped she wasn't too late. Knew that she was.

Vala stepped into the rings and closed her eyes.

***

Daniel woke up in the infirmary. He stared up into the lights, memories rushing back to him.

He told himself the icy shard in his chest was just an after-effect of the bond dissipating.

Nothing more.

***

The door to Vala's room was propped open. Daniel walked over and found Finney, Baker, Rush, and Bradley. Blankets folded. Clothing hung. Magazines stacked neatly. Trash emptied.

"Hey," he said, not knowing what else to say.

"Doctor Jackson," Baker said. She cleared her throat. "We just wanted to, um. You know. If she comes back."

"When," Bradley corrected. "When she comes back."

"Thank you," Daniel replied. He looked around the room. "You all can head out. I'll get the lights."

The four exchanged looks he couldn't quite read, but they filed out without protest. Finney grabbed a small wooden box before she exited; Daniel would have inquired, but then he saw the look on her face.

He stood in the middle of the room until their footsteps faded away. He took the scarf out of his pocket, the one he'd taken from her on the _Prometheus_ before. Before everything. He folded it neatly, set it on the dresser.

He went across the room to switch the lamps off. On the nightstand next to Vala's bed, he noticed the bracelet Azdak's family had given her. He picked it up, rubbed his thumb over the lotus seal.

And Daniel sat on her bed, in the lamplight, turning the bracelet in his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> Title and summary adapted from Fiona Apple's "[Fast as You Can](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fionaapple/fastasyoucan.html)."


End file.
